James Kirtley
Robert James Kirtley
Born: 10 January 1975, Eastbourne, Sussex
Major Teams: Sussex, Mashonaland, England.
Known As: James Kirtley
Batting Style: Right Hand Bat
Bowling Style: Right Arm Fast Medium
ODI Debut: England v Zimbabwe at Harare, 1st ODI, 2001/02
Latest ODI: England v India at Chester-le-Street, NatWest Series, 2002
NBC Denis Compton Award 1997
Career Statistics:
TESTS
M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 0 - - - - - - - - -
Balls M R W Ave BBI 5 10 SR Econ
Bowling 0 - - - - - - - - -
ONE-DAY INTERNATIONALS
(including 04/07/2002)
M I NO Runs HS Ave SR 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 7 1 0 1 1 1.00 33.33 0 0 5 0
O M R W Ave BBI 4w 5w SR Econ
Bowling 60.2 2 305 6 50.83 2-33 0 0 60.3 5.05
FIRST-CLASS
(1995 - 2002)
M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 104 146 41 1115 59 10.61 0 2 33 0
O M R W Ave BBI 5 10 SR Econ
Bowling 3196.3 773 10036 403 24.90 7-21 24 4 47.5 3.13
LIST A LIMITED OVERS
(1995 - 2002)
M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 125 51 27 251 19* 10.45 0 0 40 0
O R W Ave BBI 4w 5w SR Econ
Bowling 942.5 4221 191 22.09 5-33 8 2 29.6 4.47
- Explanations of First-Class and List A status courtesy of the ACS.
StatsGuru Filters for James Kirtley
Statistics involving James Kirtley
Articles about James Kirtley
Full list of articles
Pictures of James Kirtley
Full list of images
Profile:
The modern stereotype for a fast bowler is that he should be well in excess
of six feet tall and built like a cruiserweight boxer. James Kirtley does
not fit that mould, just reaching the six feet mark according to the
reference books and probably needing to be ringing wet if he wanted to weigh
in above middleweight.
He became a fast bowler quite late in his career at Clifton College, but
then developed quickly through the Sussex youth teams. He made his county
debut in 1995 but first made an impression on the international stage in
1996-97 when England were touring Zimbabwe.
Kirtley was playing for Mashonaland where he was spending time between
English seasons and took seven wickets in the game, including 5 for 53 in
the first innings when he claimed the then captain Michael Atherton and
future captain Nasser Hussain in his bag.
He was awarded his county cap in 1998 and in 1999-2000 went as a
replacement on the England A tour to Bangladesh and New Zealand, after being
called up when Durham's Steve Harmison withdrew from the original selection
through injury.
Kirtley took 19 wickets in first-class cricket on that tour at a little
over 19 apiece, but there were suspicions raised about his bowling action
during the New Zealand leg. Subsequent filming in both match and laboratory
conditions cleared him to the satisfaction of the ECB, but doubts were
raised again when he returned to Zimbabwe with the full England team for the
series of one-day internationals in October, 2001.
An impressive 75 wickets the previous domestic season had earned Kirtley
selection for the tour, and he began well with three wickets in the warm-up
match and two more when he made his one-day international debut in the first
of the five-match series. However, the ICC match referee, against formal
procedures, let it be known that he was suspicious about the legality of
Kirtley's action, and although the bowler was not spoken to after the second
game, Colonel Naushad Ali put in an official report the next time Kirtley
bowled in the fourth match.
After going through a period of remedial coaching, Kirtley came back to
be included in England's squad for the NatWest Series of triangular
internationals against India and Sri Lanka in the summer of 2002. He rather
suffered at the hands of the Indian batsmen in particular, but did make an
indelible mark on the tournament when holding a stunning catch in a match
against India at Lord's. It was described thus by CricInfo's reporter
Stephen Lamb: "Ganguly had come down the wicket to hit Giles wide of mid-on,
from where Kirtley ran round to take a thrilling, sprawling catch in the
fingertips of his left hand. If a better catch has been taken in the deep in
any form of cricket, I'm not sure that I've seen it."
His involvement in the tournament was cut short, however, when he
fractured his bowling hand during practice. He was originally omitted from
England's squad to go to the ICC Champions Trophy Tournament in Sri Lanka at
the end of the season, but then injury did him a favour. When Darren Gough
pulled out, Kirtley came in although he did not play in either of England's
matches in the tournament.
Capable of genuine pace with a good wrist action irrespective of any
problems caused by hyperextension of his elbow, Kirtley fails to fit the
fast bowling stereotype in another way. He is a cerebral cricketer,
captaining Sussex at the start of the 2001 season when Chris Adams was
absent through injury, and spending more than one English winter in Namibia
coaching the national side that gained qualification to the 2003 World Cup
finals. (Copyright CricInfo October 2002)
Last Updated: Saturday, 09-Nov-2002 12:10:39 GMT
|
|  |